Water
Please take a moment to read about the exciting efforts in environmental sustainability being made by our Housekeeping/Environmental Services and Food Services Departments to “Care for Our Common Home at Villa Notre Dame.”
Immigration
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, all but 71 of the more than 2000 children who were separated from their families at the U.S. border have been reunited with a parent, and no one under 5 is still separated!
With reunification, however, comes the threat of immediate deportation – without the chance to seek asylum, but “a federal judge temporarily barred the U.S. government on Monday from the rapid deportation of immigrant parents reunited with their children, while a court considers the impact on children’s rights to seek asylum.” The Court is considering whether parents should have a week to consider allowing their children to remain in the U.S. alone to seek asylum, a terrible option that – sadly – might be better than returning to their home country together.
Please remember to keep these families in your prayers, and to send your notes of encouragement to them:
• Southwest Key Programs, 6002 Jain Ln. Austin, TX 78721
• Esperanza Center, 430 S. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21231
• Upbring, Attn: Amanda Angell, 8305 Cross Park Dr., Austin TX 78754
Also, please read our latest Just Act social justice resource, “Immigration Reform: Relationship before Citizenship,” to learn more and to take action.
Trafficking
The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is recognized each year on July 30. In preparation for that important day, we would like to call your attention to the following items:
1) Since 2001, the U.S. Department of State has produced the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) , which assesses the efforts foreign governments are taking to counter human trafficking. “In the TIP Report, the Department of State places each country onto one of three tiers based on the extent of their governments’ efforts to comply with the ‘minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.’ … While Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not mean that a country has no human trafficking problem. On the contrary, a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking, made efforts to address the problem, and complies with the TVPA’s minimum standards. Each year, governments need to demonstrate appreciable progress in combating trafficking to maintain a Tier 1 ranking.” These rankings influence U.S. relations with foreign governments.
2) Every year, the TIP Report highlights certain individuals who are making superlative efforts to combat human trafficking – read about this year’s TIP Report Heroes! The TIP Report Heroes project “is aimed at raising public awareness about modern slavery by launching a global network to connect and publicize the work of these TIP Report Heroes. The project enhances global prevention efforts by ensuring that their stories, experiences, and best practices are preserved for the record, and by inspiring further antislavery activism across the globe.”
3) Consider praying this prayer service by Joan Pikiell, SSND.
Haiti
Haiti remains on the “Tier 2 Watch List” of the TIP Report for the second consecutive year. In addition to recommendations for stronger governmental oversight and juridical procedures, the TIP Report suggests that Haiti “educate the Haitian public about children’s rights to education and freedom from slavery to counteract tolerance of restavek.” Please read about the work we are doing with our partner, Beyond Borders, to address this need.